Police investigate first homicide of year in Sanger. Man tells cops he killed his dad

An 80-year-old man was found dead inside his Sanger home Wednesday morning in what police are saying is the city’s first homicide since November.

Officers responded on a welfare check and saw the man “lying on the floor, displaying signs of injury,” according to a news release from the Sanger Police Department.

Upon entering the home, they discovered he was dead.

The welfare check stemmed from an earlier incident, in which officers were called to the Fast Trip gas station on Academy Avenue about a man who had locked himself inside the bathroom.

According to police, the 46-year-old had been in the bathroom for nearly 30 minutes and “was unresponsive” to staff. When he failed to respond to officers, they “took necessary action to gain entry” and found the man with blood on his clothing.

“The individual informed officers that he had just killed his father,” according to the release.

In an update Wednesday afternoon, police identified the suspect as 46-year-old Gilbert Canales.

The victim was identified as 80-year-old Roel Canales. He had sustained multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

“Gilbert Canales currently remains in custody, facing felony charges, including murder, while the motive behind the tragic event remains unknown at this time,” police said Wednesday afternoon.

Detectives with the Sanger Police Department are leading the investigation and updates will be provided via the department’s social media.

While Sanger police are calling this the first homicide of the year, a man was shot and killed just outside of the city in March. That case was investigated by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department.

In the last homicide in Sanger in November, a man was shot and killed near near Sequoia and Redwood avenues.